Letter: Amherst tax bill is not very clear when it comes to welfare

In response to the July 8 letter writer about how the Town of Amherst’s tax bill is “crystal clear,” listing every component, I am afraid that the writer left out one very important tax; welfare.

I have been keeping property tax records since 1970. The welfare tax was listed in its own box, and 1987 was the last year that this was done. From 1988 until 1992 the tax form still listed the welfare box but the space was x’d out. Beginning in 1993, and until now, there is not even a space for it anymore.

Why is it we are not allowed to know how much of our tax goes to welfare? Could it be that the percentage of our tax for welfare is so high that our leaders feel it would be better to “hide” that information? I do know that my last known welfare amount was more than 50 percent of my total bill. Where is the transparency? Should we not have the right to know?